Test Your Emerging Technology IQ

In preparation for our Emerging Technology Session at The Car Wash Show 2018 in April, we thought we could have some fun with numbers in this article.

Try to answer the following questions without scrolling down through this article for the answers.

Test your auto market knowledge!

1. How many vehicles are on United States roads today?
2. How many new vehicles are sold each year into the US market?
3. What is the split of those vehicles between passenger cars and light trucks?
4. What percentage of those cars are leased rather than purchased?
5. How many cars are scrapped each year in the US?
6. How many electric drive (plug-in not hybrid) vehicles were sold in the USA in 2017?
7. How many electric drive (plug-in not hybrid) vehicles were sold in the China in 2017?
8. At the end of 2016 what was the Bloomberg New Energy Finance group’s estimate of global electric drive car sales in 2040?(We know – we’re starting to get into the weeds here but bear with us, there is a reason that will become apparent during the TCWS presentation).
9. At the end of 2017 what was the Bloomberg New Energy Finance group’s estimate of global electric drive car sales in 2040?
10. How much is currently being invested in electric drive system development by global auto OEMs?

You haven’t scrolled down have you?! OK… thanks.

Answer 1

Number of cars on the road in the USA: The number of cars on American roads is approximately 270 million. The average age of a vehicle is 11.6 years. Of course, they are not all on the road at the same time. In fact, individually owned vehicles sit idle about 95 percent of the time. There is a new industry forming to address that statistic – we’ll talk about it in the session.

Answer 2

Annual new car sales in USA: 17.2 million in 2017 down slightly from 17.5 in 2016.

Answer 3

Ratio of passenger cars to light trucks (SUVs, pickups and vans): 50/50.

Answer 4

Percentage of vehicles leased: 30 percent and growing; over 50 percent of luxury brands are leased.

Answer 5

Vehicles scrapped each year: Somewhere between 10 and 12 million – About 4.2 percent of the vehicles in operation (VIO) is turned each year. Since new car sales are more than that number, the VIO grows each year and is now projected to be over 280 million in 2020.

Answer 6

Number of electric drive cars sold in the USA in 2017: Just under 200,000 (or 199,826 for folks who like to be exact).

Answer 7

Number of electric drive cars sold in China in 2017: Approximately 600,000. China is now driving world development of electric drive with over 25 different makes of vehicles and a governmental EV quota for companies selling into the China market.

Answer 8

Bloomberg 2016 forecast of 2040 EV global sales percentage: 35 percent.

Answer 9

Bloomberg 2017 forecast of 2040 EV global sales percentage: 54 percent.

Answer 10

Global OEM investment in EV platforms: $90 Billion.

At TCWS 2018, we will explain how this list of statistics can impact your future and we will add a lot of other statistics to paint a picture of a rapidly changing auto market that holds both challenges and opportunities for car wash and quick lube operators.

Don’t miss Derek Kaufman’s sessions on new car technology, April 27 & 28 at The Car Wash Show 2018.